The Valiants welcome Plymouth Argyle to Burslem in Saturday’s early kick-off in Sky Bet League One.
Vale come into Saturday's clash against The Pilgrims off the back of a 0-0 draw with Wycombe Wanderers at Vale Park last Saturday. It was a game that saw both sides have good chances, but neither were able to capitalise.
Post Wycombe Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say about last weekend’s draw:
“It was a game where both teams were committed to the game this afternoon. How the boys committed to the performance, the organisation, the game plan, and the tactics was spot on.”
Press Conference Takeaways
The Gaffer's thoughts ahead of the Plymouth game:
“Yeah, without a doubt it’ll be a tough game, if anybody thinks otherwise they're viewing something different than my lens.
“We know the capabilities of what that club (Plymouth) possesses, and we understand from their point of view their position in the league table, by all stretch they shouldn’t be there.”
Our Opponents
For the previous two seasons, Plymouth were playing their football in the Championship. However, last season they finished 23rd in the second tier, meaning they were relegated to League One. Argyle narrowly avoided relegation back to the third tier when they finished one point above the relegation zone. In their promotion campaign back in 2022, Plymouth became one of the few teams to record over 100 points in a season, finishing on 101.
The visitors on Saturday currently sit bottom of the league, having not won a game in the league since the end of September, when they beat Burton Albion 4-0. Plymouth have had a stop-start season, with them winning three league games out of four throughout September, but then failing to win any of their last five.
The Opposition Dugout
The man in charge of The Pilgrims is Tom Cleverley. Tom was appointed in the summer after former boss, Miron Muslic, left the club to join German side Schalke 04. This is the Englishman’s second managerial role, following a year-long spell with Watford in the Championship. Since taking over at Plymouth, Cleverley has won seven of his twenty one games in charge.
Tom did have a great playing career before he stepped into management. The former midfielder came through the Manchester United youth system and went on to make 79 appearances for the first team, whilst winning the Premier League, EFL Cup, Community Shield and Club World Cup. After his time at Manchester United was over, Cleverley would go on to play for Aston Villa, Everton and finally, Watford. He also made thirteen appearances for his country and featured for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics.
Player to Watch
A player Vale fans certainly know all about is Lorent Tolaj. Lorent joined Plymouth from the Valiants in the summer and has picked up from where he left off. Tolaj is one of his side’s highest-performing players so far this season, scoring seven goals and achieving one assist in the process.
The striker has started every league game for his side up to this point and is almost halfway to equalling his scoring tally of fourteen goals last season, which helped Vale secure promotion to League One.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 1-0 Plymouth Argyle, 14th September 2019
The last time the Valiants beat Plymouth at Vale Park was back in 2019, when a Nathan Smith goal fifteen minutes from time secured all three points.
The visitors had the first chance of the game in Burslem as Byron Moore cut inside onto his right foot and stung the palms of Scott Brown.
In the second half, both teams had headed efforts cleared off the line before Nathan Smith eventually gave Vale the lead. A teasing ball from David Worrall was flicked on and there was Nathan Smith to head home from close range and win the game for his side.
